Bank employees to go on nationwide strike on Jan 8

Normal banking services at bank branches and ATMs are likely to be impacted as major bank unions have decided to resort to an all-India general strike on January 8 to protest against the anti-labour policies of the government.

However, net banking services and related transfers will not be affected.

Bank unions like the All India Bank Employees’ Association (AIBEA) and Bank Employees Federation of India (BEFI) have asked members to not join work on the coming Wednesday.

This information was given by a top leader of the All India Bank Employees Union (AIBEA). AIBEA general secretary CH Venkatachalam said that 10 central trade unions are supporting the nationwide general strike.

He said demands related to job security, job creation and to stop amendments in labour laws will be made during the strike. Bank employees' union are also protesting against banking reforms and bank mergers.

“In the banking sector, we find that the government’s policy is privatisation and unwarranted merger of banks despite our vehement protests. On the other hand, the main issue of recovery of corporate bad loans is being ignored and concessions are being given to them while service charges are increased for the common people,” Venkatachalam said